Spurred on by accounts of all the Snow Geese and Hooded Mergansers we launched ourselves on a trip around Cayuga Lake yesterday. Starting on the west side then the east, we came up with 37 species. Not alot, but the quality was fine.
On the west side we were treated to a singing CAROLINA WREN who was chased by a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD. Both were only about 20 feet from our vehicle. A RED-THROATED LOON and a number of RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS were not far away. We saw a very long white line of SNOW GEESE, seemingly on the east side of the lake. We could hear them very clearly, even as far away as we were. Must be deafening on the other side and we were looking forward to being closer to them. Before we looped over the north end of the lake we found a rather adorable raft of about 80 RUDDY DUCKS, snoozing with bills tucked, some with tails erect. Among them was a single BUFFLEHEAD, also with tail erect. That was intriguing. The large raft of HOODED MERGANSERS were still in the canal north of Mud Lock, but just as we found them and brought our binoculars to our eyes, someone a few houses away let loose with a volley of gunshots. Needless to say, the mergansers scattered. No "Screechie" in the Factory Road pond in Union Springs. Pond looks pretty unappealing to ducks. As it turned out, all the SNOW GEESE were out in the middle of the lake, not on the east side as it appeared. Disappointing, but we saw a few hundred overhead as well. Long Point was quiet, as were the few other spots we checked on the east side. A few close up COMMON LOONS were cool to watch. Sue -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ "Conserve and Create Habitat" -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
